DHX Media
| predecessor = Decode Entertainment Halifax Film Company | foundation = 2006 | location = | locations = 10 | area_served = | key_people = | industry = Television | products = Animated series | services = Cable channels, distribution, development | market cap = US$55 million | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | assets = | equity = | owner = | num_employees = 125 (2013) | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = | footnotes = | intl = }} DHX Media, or Decode Halifax Media, is a Canadian media production, distribution, and broadcasting company. Formed in 2006 by the merger of Decode Entertainment and Halifax Film Company, the company is a prominent producer and international distributor of children's television. Following a number of acquisitions, its library grew to include those of Cookie Jar Group (which, in turn, consisted of the libraries of Cinar, DIC Entertainment, and FilmFair), Epitome Pictures, Ragdoll Worldwide Ltd., Studio B Productions, WildBrain and Nerd Corps Entertainment, along with those of DHX's two predecessors, Decode Entertainment and Halifax Film Company themselves. DHX later entered the broadcasting industry with its acquisition of Family Channel and three other Disney-branded television networks from the former media company Astral Media. The company is the largest independent owner of children's television programming in the industry. Predecessors Decode Entertainment Halifax Film Company History The DHX Media name derives from the combination of the names Decode and Halifax from the 2006 merger between Decode Entertainment and Halifax Film Company. Studio B Productions was acquired by and became a subsidiary of DHX Media on December 4, 2007. A reverse merger deal with Entertainment One was considered and dropped in 2008. On March 25, 2008, DHX Media acquired Bulldog Interactive Fitness. On September 8, 2010, all related subsidiaries and divisions were rebranded under the label DHX Media. On September 14, 2010, DHX Media acquired WildBrain. On August 20, 2012, it was announced that DHX Media would acquire Cookie Jar Group for $111 million, a deal which would make DHX the world's largest independent owner of children's television programming. The acquisition of Cookie Jar Group by DHX Media closed on October 22, 2012. Ragdoll Worldwide, a joint venture between Ragdoll Productions, BBC Worldwide and an investment group that manages and licenses Ragdoll programming, was bought by DHX on September 16, 2013 for $27.7 million. On November 28, 2013, DHX announced that it would acquire four children's oriented specialty television channels from the former Astral Media for $170 million, consisting of Family Channel, Disney Junior, Disney Junior (French), and Disney XD. The networks were being sold as a condition of Bell Media's 2013 acquisition of Astral Media; its purchase of the networks marks DHX's first foray into television broadcasting. The deal was approved by the CRTC on July 24, 2014, and closed on July 31, 2014. In early 2014, DHX Media acquired Epitome Pictures, the producers of Degrassi, but Epitome did not own international distribution rights. In November, DHX purchased Echo Bridge Entertainment, US distributor that owned the international distribution right to Degrassi and Instant Star and The LA Complex, two other Epitome productions plus 117 children’s and family series consisting of about 1,200 half-hours and another 34 series' distribution right. Other shows in the purchase were Lunar Jim, Beast Wars: Transformers and Emily of New Moon. Nerd Corps Entertainment, a Canadian animation studio founded by former Mainframe Entertainment Producers Asaph Fipke and Chuck Johnson, was acquired by DHX Media on December 24. Units DHX Television was formed on July 31, 2014 through DHX's acquisition of four children's specialty channels that were previously owned by Astral Media, including Family Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior (English) and Disney Junior (French). *Epitome Pictures, a Canadian company founded by Linda Schuyler, was acquired by DHX Media on April 3, 2014. It is best known for creating Degrassi. References See also *List of DHX Media programs External links * * * * * Bulldog Interactive Fitness website Category:Companies based in Halifax Category:Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Category:S&P/TSX Composite Index Category:Television broadcasting companies of Canada Category:Television production companies of Canada Category:American animation studios Category:British animation studios Category:Canadian animation studios Category:French animation studios Category:Japanese animation studios Category:Companies established in 2006 Category:2006 establishments in Nova Scotia